The Design Block

If you're looking for the latest in advertising and marketing, design related technology and lifestyle tips, and art or design highlights then you're in the right place. Find all this and more with the Design Block blog.

Adobe’s premiere image editor, Photoshop remains the industry standard because of how the software can assist photographers and graphic designers in doing their jobs. It is, however, about the get a lot easier for Apple users. This year Adobe is finally bringing Photoshop CC—a fully…

One of the world’s largest fast food chains is sprucing up the holiday season with some signature Christmas ornaments. McDonald’s UK has just rolled out two variations of ornaments. Celebrating the almighty Chicken McNugget, you’ll want a full box of 50.

It’s easy to get lost in a good book; they can transport you to another place, another time, and even other realms. Tokyo-based designer, Monde, has found his own way to take book-lovers to another world with a whimsical art project called Bookshelf Dioramas.

Apparently Starbucks doesn’t want its customers using their free WiFi to look at porn. Enough Is Enough, a nonprofit dedicated to internet safety, created a petition calling for the coffee chain to block access to explicit materials.

If you visit the website of fashion retailer Anthropologie, you’ll see a product called Birch Branch Bundle. Exactly what the name implies, this bundle of decorative twigs is not much different from what you’d find in your own yard.

Icons and symbols are powerful tools that have been used by humans to communicate ideas for over 100,000 years. Computer-based illustration tools like Adobe Illustrator have made creating icons easier than ever.

Pantone has been a colour leader for a while now, but as designers, there are great many advantages of using Pantone as a colour guide. Designers routinely undergo multiple handovers each time they work on a project, and earlier this year, the company promised to simplify work processes for…

You probably have an archive of typefaces, actions and other resources to add a little something-something to your projects. But what about Photoshop textures? They are an awesome resource for designers who want to play around with different looks—especially because you can download thousands of…

One of the most important things to remember in design is to back-up your work. That being said, sometimes even the those files can be vulnerable to bugs. That’s the case with a freelance videographer who recently filed a class action lawsuit against Adobe.

Some people are so hungry for a Whopper that they don’t just go through the drive-thru, they go through the entire restaurant. And that’s what led Burger King to create this campaign by Lola MullenLowe, promoting home delivery with images of real car crashes that occurred…

Everywhere you look, it seems that there is a new suggestion or idea on how to increase your productivity and efficiency at work. This isn’t surprising, since cracking the code of how to stay on top of your tasks and truly shine in your work…

Volkswagen’s “Too powerful for TV“ commercial was, apparently, too powerful for television in Australia. The humorous commercial was banned in the country for breaking advertising codes of conduct and for being “unsafe”.

Back in 2014, creative agency Snøhetta and Metric Design won a competition to redesign Norway’s banknotes. Finally, all of the country’s paper currency has been redesigned and nearly all entered into circulation.

It’s true that people don’t look like their Instagram shots, or they’re not as happy as their Facebook profiles try to convince us. It’s also true that designers don’t use all those trendy font combinations you might think.

You’ve likely figured out best practices for mobile marketing, design, and internal communication for your business. It seems like you have a pretty good system in place, but it gets a little tired. You find you and your team are stuck in the monotony of…

An Australian group has released a new ad to promote organ donation. And as they point out in the ad, organ donation can save lives. However, the number of people who register for organ donation remains relatively low.

A city steeped in art and culture, Chicago boasts one of the oldest and largest museums in the United States: the Art Institute of Chicago. While visiting this historic institution should be on any art lovers’ list, a recent website redesign has made experiencing its collection as simple as a…

Is someone using terrible kerning, stretching type or did you get a client brief in the dreaded Comic Sans? Don’t despair. The next time someone commits design offences, you can write them up with this Typographic Ticket Book.

Showing that eco-friendly building concepts are applicable to even our canine friends, California-based architecture and interior design firm Studio Schicketanz has designed a dog house unlike any other.

3.5 million tons of plastic and other solid waste are generated each day across the world, according to researchers. Yet, there are a growing number of companies and people who are joining the zero waste movement.

Graffiti isn’t all tagging and political opinions sprayed on the wall. In fact, today it’s become an acceptable artistic genre that’s increasingly being embraced by the general public as well as institutions.

People seem to get excited at the beginning of fall with all of the pumpkin-flavoured foods and drinks. And The International House of Pancakes (IHOP) tends to fill that demands with their Pumpkin Pancakes. This year, however, they’re trying something different with pumpkin flavours.

Playing with Lego just got better for the environment. After announcing its eco-friendly plant-shaped bricks made of sugarcane, LEGO has teamed up with Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas to create a wind turbine model made from sustainable bricks.

IKEA just became the latest company to announce it’s experimenting with self-driving cars. Well, calling them cars isn’t quite right. While the Swedish furniture giant isn’t looking to become the next Tesla, they’re taking an entirely different approach to the concept.

Every year the team at the Pantone Color Institute comes out with its fashion trend report; an overview of the top colours showcased by fashion designers at New York Fashion Week that’ll be featuring in their collections for the upcoming season.

A rainbow is a beautiful, natural phenomenon which continues to inspire people in many ways. It has also inspired scientists and artists alike to further explore the nature of colour and light and how they are connected.

Daniel Swanick has been working as both a freelance and in-house Art Director / Senior Graphic Designer in the Greater Toronto Area for over ten years. He looks at every project from both a creative and strategic point-of-view to deliver engaging, conceptually driven ideas.